Process for shaping glass tubes, more particularly tubes with rarefied gas, intended for lighting or luminous advertising



Apnl 21, 1925. 1,534,685

G. CLAUDE ET AL PROCESS FOR SHAPING GLASS TUBES, MORE PARTICULARLY TUBES WITH RAREFIED GAS, INTENDED FOR LIGHTING OR LUMINOUS ADVERTISING Filed Dec.21. 1923 INVENTU/f 134 fjzuza Patented Apr. 21, 1925.

' UNIT D STATES- P TE r-oFrica GEORGES CLAUDE AND JEAN MARIE EDOUARD m: BEAUFORT, OF BOULOGNE-SUR- SEINE, FRANCE. I

GAS, INTENDED FOR LIGHTING OR LUMINOUS ADVERTISING.

Application filed December 21, 1928. Serial No. 682,045.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, GEORGES CLAUDE, a citizen of the Republic of France, and a resident of Boulogne-sur-Seine, France, and JEAN MARIE EDOUARD .DE BEAUFORT, citizen of the Re ublic of France, residing at Boulogne-surcine, France, have invented certain new and useful improvements in a process for shaping glass tubes, more particularly tubes with rarefied gas, intended for lighting or luminous advertising, of which the followin is a specification.

The process general y emplo ed for giving the sha e prescribed by rawings, to any lass tuiies, more particularly those for rare ed gas such as neon and other gases used for lighting or luminous advertising, consists in heatin the said tubes at a certain portion of t eir length in a suitable burner so as to soften the glass to a certain extent, and then bringing'the. softened portion in front of a pattern in order to give it the desired shape; the operations of heatin and sha ing the tube succeeding each other until t e desired shape is completely obtained. I

Such process consumes considerable time, owing to the successive operations which it necessitates; and it requires a certain skill on the part of the workman and also necessitates precautions in order to avoid breakage of the tubes. Moreover, the heatin and the cooling of the tubes being irre 'u ar, their mechanical strength is necessarily reduced. The present invention relates to a new process for sha ing an glass tubes, which eliminates the rawbac s just mentioned.

This process substantially consists in constructing on the tube to be shaped a kind of cylindrical jacket by winding on the said tube, suitably close together coils of a wire which has an electric resistance and is capable of withstanding the temperature re.

quired for softening the glass, and which is electrically insulated by means of some incombustible material; in passing through the wire thus wound, a current of suitable strength which heats the glass and brings it to the desired degree of softening; then, in bending the whole-viz: the glass tube and its spiral jacketon a template in order to give it the desired shape; and finally in cutting off the current from the wire and allowing the shaped tube to cool, which tube can be then strippedof its jacket.

This process makes it possible, as will be readily understood, on the one hand, to bring the tube very quickly'and in a thoroughly uniform manner to the desired temerature, and the other hand, owing to its eat insulation produced by the same winding, to let it cool slowly, which is' a necessar condition for subsequent good mechanica strength.

'The carrying out of the process in practice will be better understood with reference to the accompanying drawing given by way of example, in which Fig. 1 is a view of the glass tube in its original, straight condition;

b Fig. 2 shows the tube after it has been cut;

Fig. 3 shows the straight tube with its wire jacket; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmental view of the template.

Thewi re wound around the straight glass tube A B for the purpose hereinbefore specified, is marked a b in Fi 3. The tube A B and its jacket (1 b are aped into the curved form indicated at A B in Fig. 2, when the tube A B is sufficiently softened by passing the heating current through the jacket a b, on the template G (Fig. 4;).

It goes without sayin that the process just described can be applied to the s aping of any glass tubes and generally of any glass articles they are to be shaped, whatever their pu ose and whatever the sha e to be given to tiem, the shaping being a ways effected in one operation. We claim as our invention:

1. A process for shaping glass articles, consisting in forming a jacket around the article to be shaped by helically winding a wire with electric resistance capable of withstanding the temperature required for soft- 1 rnocnss' m. srmrnvo GLASS TUBES, moan PARTICULARLY TUBES WITH ening the glass and insulated electrically by means of an incombustible material; passing through. the said winding a current of suitable strength for bringing the glass to the desired degree of softening; shaping on a template the unit constituted by the article and its windin so as to give the said unit the desired s ape; then shuttin off the current through the winding and allowing the shaped article, to cool slowly; and then stripping oil the winding. a

2. A recess for shaping glass articles, com rising the successive steps of winding 5 insu ated wire around the article to be shaped; passing an electric current through said winding to soften'the glass; shaping the softened article while the winding is in place thereon; shutting ofithe current; and. removingthe winding from the shaped. 10 article after the latter has cooled.

In testimony whereof we afiix our signatures.

JEAN MARIE EDOUARD dc BEAUFOR'L' GEORGES CLAUDE. 

